actress
Americannoun
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actresses
plural
noun
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a woman who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc
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informal a woman who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others
Usage
Use of the word actress to refer to a female who acts is old-fashioned. The modern gender-neutral form is actor
Gender
What's the difference between actress and actor? See -ess.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of actress
Vocabulary lists containing actress
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Last year, an English actress named Bebe Cave posted a reel with the title, “Every lead girl in a period drama,” which has now been viewed over 9 million times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“After the pandemic, I had a cognition that I didn’t need to live on either coast, quite frankly,” said Foster, who shares two children with ex-wife, “Orange is the New Black” actress Laura Prepon.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
They'd just announced they were getting married and it was in the East Midlands that an American actress would be hard launched as a working member of the Royal Family.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Bollywood actress Richa Chadha, meanwhile, offered other tips to avoid detention while filming herself drawing on her face with make-up on Sunday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
One teacher, someone he does not know well, asks how he had managed to get a professional actress to play the role of the mother, Elizabeth Hardy.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
She got the job over the “more A-list” actresses who Rock says were vying for it, in part because she clearly wanted it so much.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Although historians are unaware of her ever returning to Elham, residents remain "incredibly proud" that one of the world's best-known actresses once called their community home.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
“Wednesday” star Jenna Ortega may be one of Hollywood’s most recognizable young actresses, but when it comes to real estate, the 23-year-old has kept a relatively low profile.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
More often than not, we see this with actresses in Hollywood pushing against demanding directors or seeking out more challenging material.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
Various actors and actresses performed very dull dialogue and moved around the set, as Klaus tried to make eye contact with them and see if they would help.
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
